


Where We Left Off

by FollyOfWinchester



Series: Nothing Good Will Come [14]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Scene, Angst, Behind the Scenes, Canon Compliant, Crying Dean, Deleted Scenes, Episode: s06e18 Frontierland, Episode: s06e19 Mommy Dearest, Episode: s06e20 The Man Who Would Be King, Extended Scene, Fluff, Foiled Confessions, Guilty Castiel, Headcanon, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Language, Missing Scene, Season/Series 06 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 13:52:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1472194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollyOfWinchester/pseuds/FollyOfWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean learns the truth behind Castiel's recent strange behavior. Set after s06e18 Frontierland, during s06e19 Mommy Dearest, and during s06e20 The Man Who Would Be King.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dean Eastwood

**Author's Note:**

> The alternate scene occurs in the third chapter.

Energized by the whole near miss thing with the phoenix, Dean strolls triumphantly over to Cas where he sits recovering by the window. Sam and Bobby had gone on a supply run and left Dean to tend to Cas, so they were alone in the house. Dean props his boot against the arm of the couch and leans his elbow against his knee. He tips his hat at Cas. “Howdy, pilgrim.”

Cas fixes him with an remorseful stare that cuts right through his good mood. _Sheesh._ “Whoa, lighten up! We got the ashes!” He gestures down the length of his duster and lets a broad smile spread across his face, “And come on, you gotta admit I look _pretty_ damn good as a sheriff.”

Cas smiles weakly back at him and states matter-of-factly, “Yes, much better than the blanket,” but his face quickly falls again.

 _Alright, where is all this woe is me Eeyore shit coming from?_ Dean flumps down on the couch and rests his arm around Cas’s shoulders. He wants to help with whatever it is that’s getting Cas down, but he doesn’t really want to talk about it. He’s a man of action. He looks over at Cas’s profile and feels a sudden compulsion to pull him into a hug, so he does. Cas’s head lands against his chest and he wraps a hand around Dean’s forearm. Dean sighs happily. He’s finally got his angel back, and his brother back, and they are all hunting together, just like it was supposed to go down after the apocalypse was over. It crosses his mind that their little cuddle session is dangerously close to a chick flick moment minus the chicks, but he can’t help it. Seeing Cas all mopey and busted up, well, he just wants to fix it and this is all he can think of. _What else do you do in a situation like this for someone you..._

He looks down at Cas’s face against his chest.

_...love?_

He freezes at the thought. He can hear his blood rushing in his ears. _Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do I love Cas? I...do. I love Cas. Yeah. I freaking do. I’m in love with Cas!_ It’s mushy and fucking frightening, but what the hell? It’s also the truth. Maybe he should share with the class. He strokes Cas’s cheek and leans down for better access to the potential make out session afterward. “You know, Cas, uh, I think, maybe, possibly, I might, I’m probably in—”

“Dean, I can’t.”

They lock eyes and both let out a confused, “What?” over one another. Dean feels Cas tense as he pushes up against Dean’s forearm to standing and turns away. Dean rubs nervously at the side of his neck. _He’s probably in a lot of pain. I should have just let him rest._ “Sorry, I know you’re hurt pretty bad. Seeing you laid up, I just—”

“No, what I meant is WE can’t. We can’t do this.” Cas turns back around and makes a weak motion between them in the air before letting his hand drop back to his side. He turns his head away from Dean again, “I can’t do this to you anymore.”

“Cas, but, look! I’m fine! You’re not doing anything! Just, shit, tell me what’s wrong here because I’m definitely not getting it.”

Cas looks at the floor. “Dean, it is my intention to end our relationship.”

 _What? What?!_ “What?!”

“Please do not protest. There is...nothing to discuss. I have much larger concerns to attend to. I must go.”

“Cas?! Wait!” But he’s gone before Dean even gets to his feet. “Son of a JUNKLESS BITCH!” He bursts off the couch and half-prays, half-shouts into the ceiling, “Come on, Cas, at least have the balls to hash it out before RUNNING AWAY! You big baby!”

He shakes his head. _I try to confess my undying love to my dumbass angel boyfriend and he slaps me with a restraining order. Good times._ As he’s preparing another barrage of frustrated screaming at the sky, he hears Sam and Bobby pull up outside. _Just fucking great._ He throws his cowboy hat on the ground and storms off into the kitchen for a drink.

~*~


	2. Dean Grant

Outside the diner, Bobby watched as Dean and Cas headed off to their part of the “let’s split up, gang” recon. As soon as they were out of earshot, Bobby turned to Sam with an earnest look on his face. “Is it just me or do those two idjits seem less _Broke Back Mountain_ and more _Married with Children_ to you?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, totally. I wonder what’s up.”

“Hell if I know. I was hopin’ maybe you knew somethin’ I didn’t.”

“Do you think we should...ask them about it?”

“Hell no!”

~*~

After walking in silence for a few moments, Dean can’t take it anymore. He’s angry and hurt and confused and frustrated and how can he explain it all to Cas without sounding like Hugh Grant’s character in every one of those crappy rom coms? He has to say something or he’s going to fucking explode. At least he’s got a captive audience thanks to Mother Supernature or whatever.

“So, what? You find some other irredeemable piece of shit from the pit to play with?”

A weirdly surprised expression passes over Cas’s features, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Cas looks over at him and narrows his eyes. “Please, don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

Dean shakes his head. _I’M not the one making anything hard. Apparently._ “Look, I get it. Places to go, people to see, civil war in Heaven, blah blah freaking blah. But I finally had you back, Cas! And I got Sammy his soul back, and we were all back to quasi-okay for a second there. No apocalypse, no Lisa, nothing left hanging over my head. Maybe I’m not that great at this whole...whatever it is,” he motions between them, “but...we were working it out! You know? We were figuring it out together! Or at least I thought we were.”

“Dean, I wish I could explain, but—”

“WHAT’S THERE TO FUCKING EXPLAIN? What is so wrong here? What did I do? Just tell me!”

Cas stares blankly back at him.

“Shit, Cas, whatever it is that brought all this on, the moping around, the crying, the random as hell break up... Wait, is it about what I did with Lisa because I still haven’t been with another guy so I’m still _technically_ —”

“No, this is not about copulating with women. I simply cannot afford to be...preoccupied right now. Once Raphael is defeated I can tell you everything. Until then, you must trust me, Dean. Please.”

Dean sighs. What choice does he have, anyway? “Fine.” He fluffs his hands through his hair and mutters it again. “Fine.” He looks over at Cas, at the slump in his shoulders and the defeated look in his eyes. If this is just about the Homeland Security issues up in Heaven, Dean can deal. He taps Cas on the arm, “Just...make sure you come out of it in one piece, alright, because if you die I am gonna be royally pissed off.” Dean lets a little smirk play at the corners of his mouth.

Cas doesn’t smile, but his eyes soften a bit and he nods, “Understood.”

~*~


	3. Dean Winchester

Dean chugs along through the fight with Cas he practiced a thousand times in his head before he fell asleep on the couch. If anything sinks in, he hopes it’s the “don’t” part. _Don’t do this. Don’t keep working with Crowley. Don’t lie to me. Don’t leave. Stay here and fix this._ “I'm saying, 'Don't,' just 'cause. I'm asking you not to. That's it.”

Cas looks completely unfazed, “I don't understand.”

“Look, next to Sam, you and Bobby are the closest things I have to family. For fuck’s sake, I was trying to tell you, I was in, no, I still am in _LOVE WITH YOU_ , you dumb son of a bitch! All I wanted after we canned the apocalypse was for us to...be something! You, and me, and Sam, and Bobby. A chipped, scratched, half-glued back together mess of a family, but a goddamn family! Who...who don’t go making demon deals and lying and hiding and SPYING! WHO FUCKING TRUST EACH OTHER! So, if I'm asking you not to do something, you gotta trust me, man.” 

Cas turns his head away and closes his eyes.

Dean can’t stand it. He grabs Cas’s trenchcoat by the collars and pull him in close. “Just don’t! God, Cas, just don’t do whatever you’re about to do and stay here! Stay here with me, with your family and let us help you!” Dean can feel his eyes burning with frustrated tears, but he blinks them away. “Let _me_ help you. Let me have the you I’m in love with back.” He searches Cas's face for a sign that any of this is getting through. Their mouths are so close together. Dean wants to bridge the short distance with one last frantic, futile kiss, but he doesn’t.

Cas looks like he’s in physical pain for a moment, but then his face goes blank again. “Dean, I can’t.” He pulls out of Dean’s grip. “I'm sorry, but I can’t turn back now.”

And Cas is gone. A few wracked sobs gush out of Dean’s throat unchecked as he sinks to his knees and buries his face in his hands.


End file.
